Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Sketched List: 13 Horror Comedies for Halloween

Halloween is tomorrow! No doubt, a lot of people will be going trick-or-treating, or to a spoooooky party! Or maybe they'll relax at home with some scary movies. But what if you're just looking to chill and have some laughs, but still stay in the spirit? Here are 13 fantastic classic and/or little-known horror-comedies for your Halloween night!


Shaun of the Dead
Probably anyone who likes zombies, horror, or comedy has already seen this one, but it's still a classic. Watching this again, you'll laugh, but you'll also realize how great Edgar Wright is at editing and turning the classic zombie premise on its head. It’s even better if everyone's already seen it, in which case a drinking game is a great undertaking. Someone says a one-liner? Take a drink! Finish your drink for, "You've got a bit of red on you.

Dracula: Dead and Loving It
Can you get a better comedy master than Mel Brooks? No. No, you cannot. This is possibly the BEST version of Dracula (yeah, I said it) because not only is it a hilarious take on the classic Victorian tale, but it also has the late, great Leslie Nielsen in the pivotal role! It is an incredibly silly movie, and you’ll be sure to laugh your butt off.

Fido
This is a relatively little-known movie about a post-apocalyptic, 1950's world in the awkward afterglow of a zombie outbreak. Zombies have become domesticated pets for the living. A boy in a typical nuclear family latches onto one such zombie (played by the incredible Bill Connolly) and calls him Fido. Really, it's a warm tale about a boy and his dog zombie. It's not “burst-out-loud-laughing” hilarious, but it’s certainly pretty cute if you haven't seen it before.

Zombie Strippers
There's a zombie virus outbreak, strippers get infected, and as luck (and hilarity) would have it, the customers like the zombified strippers even MORE than ever! It is as crazy and outlandish as it sounds. It stars Robert Englund of Freddy fame, and it's over-the-top, crazy fun.


Tucker and Dale vs. Evil
This wasn't that big of a hit when it came out, but it's an incredibly fun movie about teens being menaced by cannibalistic hillbillies, except the cannibalistic hillbillies are actually poor bumbling Tucker and Dale (played by Alan Tudyk and Tyler Labine, respectively) who really just want to have a relaxing fishing trip in their new summer home. I did a full review of this one last year, and I stand by how funny it is.


Young Frankenstein
Can we talk about horror-comedies and NOT talk about this other Mel Brooks classic? Heck no! Everyone should have seen this already, but if you haven't, it's a hilarious take on the original Frankenstein, with Gene WIlder as the doctor and Peter Boyle as the monster. It's still a masterpiece of comedy and one of Mel Brooks' best.


Cabin in the Woods
Have you still not seen Cabin in the Woods? Why have you not seen Cabin in the Woods?? Go see Cabin in the Woods, right now, damn it! As you may have guessed by its addition on this list, it's not really a horror film. It's actually a brilliant deconstruction of ALL horror films, and somehow manages to make all past, present and future horror films better by connecting them in ways I can't spoil. And if you have seen it already, why not watch it again? I mean, it is written and directed by Joss Whedon.


Bubba Ho-Tep
Bruce Campbell plays an aging Elvis in a retirement home, who, with a black JFK (Ossie Davis) has to stop an evil mummy from sucking fellow retirees' souls from their asses. So that's a movie. That’s this movie. It's silly and maybe not as great as the premise suggests, but watching Bruce Campbell play old, fat Elvis is worth the price of admission.


Mars Attacks
Maybe more sci-fi than horror, but still a fantastic movie and a hilarious comedy. This is classic Tim Burton, before he went mainstream. And it has a huge cast! Including Jack Nicholson as the president, Sara Jessica Parker as a lady head on a Chihuahua's body, and Tom Jones as Tom Jones. It is delightful. And who doesn't love those Martian designs?


Evil Dead 2/Army of Darkness
I can't really do a comedy horror list without these, right? And I don't want to put one over the other because they go pretty well together. Bruce Campbell fights the forces of evil in comical ways. Evil Dead 2 has much more of the horror part of horror-comedy, but Army of Darkness has a lot more classic lines. I'd say it's a good night for a double feature!


Beetlejuice
One of Tim Burton's best and most original movies, Beetlejuice has it all. Comedy, scares; young, skinny Alec Baldwin; crazy prosthetics and make-up; a different look at the afterlife; a killer soundtrack by Danny Elfman; AND stop-motion sandworms. Who knew Michael Keaton could be this funny and manic? And after you watch the movie, you can go watch the classic cartoon series!


Ghostbusters 1& 2
I don't know if you've heard about this little movie set, starring a couple of unknowns named Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd, about a team of experts that capture ghosts, but it's kind of a big deal. No doubt you've seen it already, but why not watch it again? What are you waiting for, Ghostbusters 3?


Hocus Pocus
If you had told me last week I'd have a watch list with TWO movies with Sarah Jessica Parker in them, I'd have called you crazy. But here we are! I was going to put Zombieland as number 13 but we have, what, 5 zombie movies and no witch movies? Hocus Pocus is a Halloween classic! Who didn't watch this every year as a kid and have that one musical number stuck in their head for months? Now you can watch it as adults and reminisce of the good ol' days with sexy zombies and sexy cats instead of sexy vampires and sexy werewolves.

Well there you have it, 13 horror comedies for your viewing pleasure. Are you planning on watching any of these? What are some of your favorite horror comedies that I may have left off? 


Have a safe and fun Halloween!

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